RMK Assault 155 Extreme Machine

September 22, 2015 Andy Swanson

Deep-snow sleds are some of the most highly modified snowmobiles on the planet, and the upgrades usually focus on two goals: reduced weight and more power. Of course traction, ergonomics, storage and durability are important, and wild, color-filled wraps and graphics are also popular.

Every year at the annual Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Expo in Denver, Snow Goer magazine selects a group of special Extreme Machines to be displayed at the show. Do you have a modified mountain snowmobile that you’d like to show off at the Expo October 10-11, 2015?

To apply to display your sled, email pictures and a description of each modification you made to your sled to aswanson@snowgoer.com. Riders willing to bring their sleds to the show for display can apply. New this year, owners of machines displayed at the Expo will win a free, two-night stay at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort in Nathrop, Colorado! Entries will be accepted until September 25. Even if you don’t have a sled to display yourself, come to the show and see these unique creations. The Expo will be held at the National Western Complex.

Here are details about an Extreme Machine that was displayed at the 2014 Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Expo. The 2014 Polaris RMK Assault 155 is owned by Ryan Benedict of Parker, Colorado.

When working out at sea in the Gulf Of Mexico for the offshore oil drilling industry, it might seem like Ryan Benedict couldn’t be farther away from the deep powder and steep climbs of northern Colorado where he often rides.

“Those epic powder days with handlebar-deep downhill turns where you have a perma-grin like a child on Christmas Eve just simply can’t be replaced by anything else,” he said.

Snowmobiling was a Benedict family tradition while growing up in Maine, but after graduating college Ryan moved west and met riders on the mountains and in parking lots getting ready to ride.

His group rides anything “super technical” and off camber. “I feel like there is such a long learning curve to tree riding that no one can ever really be perfect at it. It’s a constant mental and physical challenge that continuously pushes you as a rider to put your sled in places you never thought you would have had the ability to [reach].” There is no better feeling, he says, than successfully pulling off a nasty line through the trees, looking back and laughing.

Without hesitation, the BoonDocker turbo is his favorite mod because of the power it adds and its durability. “Turbos used to be viewed as unreliable. I rode 60-plus days last season at temperatures that ranged from minus 10 to 70 degrees, and my Vohk sled never once even had so much as a hiccup,” he said. His second-favorite add-on? “My Muffpot. A man’s got to eat!”

Power modifications: